Reciprocating pump with movable cylinder



June 9, 1953 s. L STONE 2,641,197

REQIPROCATING PUMP WITH Mos/ABLE CYLINDER Filed May 19, 1949 rIl :inventor .48 @See/07er S/ome Gttornegs Patented June 9, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RECIPROCATIN G PUMP WITH MOVABLE CYLINDER 2 Claims.

This invention relates to sub-surface reciprocating pumps such as are used in oil wells and more particularly to a working barrel or liner type pump.

Conventional sub-surface reciprocating pumps must be pulled from the well for repair and replacement of valves and packings. The frequency of the repairs and replacements and other difficulty in the operation of the ordinary pipe or pump is accelerated by the presence of sand in the well. The pump is usually pulled by engaging recesses on the bottom of the tube guide with lugs on the crown of the lower or standing valve whereby said crown, plunger and working barrel may be all drawn from the tubing. However, sand frequently collects in the well tubing above the standing valve to the point whereby it is impossible to effect engagement of thelugs thereby necessitating pulling of the well tubing and all equipment therein from the well in order to effect necessary repairs or clean the sand from said tubing. Such pulling operations are expensive and time consuming resulting in long shut-down periods of the well.

The objects of the present invention are to provide a pump structure which can be disengaged by pulling the plunger and working barrel regardless of the sand in the well tubing; to provide a pump structure in which the standing valve is at the upper end of the plunger and e relatively close to the upper or traveling valve to substantially eliminate gas locking in the pump; to provide an adapter for conventional workingbarrel pump structures to facilitate removal of the pump from the well tubing and substantially eliminate difliculties from Hsand and gas; to provide a pump structure which mal7 be released from the pull tube whereby the plunger, working barrel and rod string may be lifted until the fluid in the tubing string will backwash sand out of the bottom part of the tubing to permit the pump to be removed without pulling or stripping the well tubing; and to provide a sub-surface working barrel type reciprocating pump which is efficient in operation and can be easily removed or replaced under all conditions.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, I have provided improved details of structure, the preferred forms of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through the Well tubing and working barrel of a pump embodying the features of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating the structure in position for releasing the pump from the plunger 0r pull tube when sand is in the bottom of the tubing.

Fig. 3 is a disassembled perspective view of the bottom connector, pull tube, tube guide, and lower end of the plunger,

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional View through the tube guide adjacent the release lug on the plunger or pull tube.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

I designates a sub-surface pump of the lworking barrel type adapted to operate in well tubing 2. Suitably supported in the well tubing is a body member 3 having seal rings 4 engaging the interior surface of the well tubing to prevent leakage of oil or gas around said body member. The lower portion of the body member is perforated as at 5 and is provided with a foot piece 6 as in conventional practice. The body member 3 is preferably of conventional structure which usually mounts the standing valve in conventional practice, said body having a bore therethrough for passage of oil, said bore communicating with the bore l of a connector member 8 threaded into the upper end of the body 3, said connector preferably being formed of brass or the like whereby gyp and sand will not cause said connector to adhere to the body or tubing. The upper end of the bore I is provided with a tapered threaded portion 9 to receive the taf pered threaded end Ill of a plunger or pull tube I I. The tapered threads Q and I0 are preferably left handed or otherwise reverse to the normal direction of the threads of the conventional rod string whereby unscrewing threads 9 and Il] tends to tighten the threads in the rod string as later described.

The plunger or pull tube II has a through bore I2 which communicates with the bore T and said tube is longer than the longest stroke at which the pump is operated. The upper end of the tube I I is provided with left hand tapered male threads I3 adapted to be screwed into tapered threads I4 in the lower end of the `plunger body I'5 which carries packing rings I6 and packings I1 forming the plunger I3 as in conventional practice. The upper end I9 of the plunger is tubular and mounted thereon in a packing follower 20 which is urged against the packing II by a spring 2l sleeved over the upper portion I9, one end of the spring bearing against the follower 2G and the other end bearing against a collar 22 secured adjacent the upper end 0f the plunger body.

The plunger is provided with a through bore 23 having communication with the bore I2 of the plunger or pull tube II and communicating at its upper end with the bore 24 of a valve seat 25 supported in the valve body 26 secured on the upper end of the plunger body adjacent the collar 22. The valve body 2 mounts the standing valve cage Z'E for retaining the ball valve 28 in position to engage the seat and stop flow through the plunger, said cage being of sufficient size to allow the ball to open for ow of oil into the working barrel 3d. The actual structure of the valve body Zi, ball seat and cage is preferably of conventional structure.

The working barrel 3G is tubular with the inner surface 3I polished and of such size las to slidably engage the packing and seal cups on the plunger, the exterior size of said working barrel being smaller than the bore of the well tubing 2 whereby there is clearance between the walls thereof. The upper of the working barrel is internally threaded as at 32 and adapted to be screwed on a male threaded projection 33 of an upper connector connector having a bore 35 therethrough and adapted to receive a ball 36 at the upper end whereby seating of said ball will close the flow through the bore 35. The upper end of the connector is provided with. external threads 3l and screwed thereon is an upper crown or cage 38 adapted to retain the ball in position and allow movement for opening and closing of the bore 35. The cage has apertures 39 for ow of liquid into the well tube 2, :and an upwardly projecting threaded rod end 40 adapted to be screwed into a socket 4I or a pump or sucker rod 42 which the lower rod of a pump rod assembly (not shown) consisting of a string of said rods threadedly connected and extending upwardly through the well tubing to the surface and connected to a pumping jack for reciprocation of said rods and working barrel as in conventional practice.

The lower end of the working barrel Sil is provided with internal threads 43 adapted to be screwed onto the upper threaded end 44 of a tube guide 45, said tube guide having a bore to slidably mount said guide on the pull tube 4I. The threads 43 and all of the threads in the pump rod string are right hand or reverse to the threads 9 and i3. guide is provided with dain'etrically opposite recesses 4S adapted to engage lugs 4! extending upwardly from a collar 48 secured to the 'plunger or pull tube in spaced relation to the lower end of said tube, but below the lowermost position of the tube guide in normal pumping operation. in said normal pumping operations, the upper end of the tube guide in its uppermost position is spaced from the lower end of the plunger body member I5. However, the upper threaded end of said tube guide is provided with diametrically opposite recesses 4B substantially the same `size of and adapted to 'engage depending lugs 5U on the lower end of said plunger body l5.

In using an vapparatus constructed and 'assembled as 'described in the normal pumping operation, the equipment on the surface reciprocates the pump rods v42 raising and lowering the working barrel to provide a reciprocating movement between the barrel and the station-'ary plunger 13. On upward movement of the working barrel, the ball 35 will seat Ato close the bore 35 whereby further movement of the working bar-rel increases the space between the standing valve and the upper connector 34 to form a suc- The lower end of the tube tion drawing oil upwardly from the bottom o! the well through the bores '1, I2, 24 lifting the ball valve 28 whereby the oil flows into the working barrel above the standing valve. Downward movement of the working barrel seats the ball valve 28 and forces the oil upwardly through the bore 35 lifting the ball valve 3B whereby the oil nows into the well tube 2. The packing 4 on the body 3 supports the column of oil in the well tubing.

When it becomes necessary to remove the pump from the well tubing for repairs or cleaning, the working barrel is lowered until the lower end of the tube guide 45 engages the collar 48, the rod string is then rotated to the right or clockwise until the recesses 46 engage the lugs 45. Then continued rotation to the right unscrews the tube EI from the body member 8. There is no danger of unscrewing the string of rods in this operation as the threads on the rods are reverse to the threads El and l il on the plunger or vpull tube and connector When the tube :is unscrewed the entire working barrel, plunger body I5, tube Il, valves and rod string may be removed from the well tubing, disassembled and repaired as is necessary, and then replaced in the well and the tube II threaded into the bore of the connector 3. Then the pump is again ready for operation.

In wells having considerable sand, the sand will collect in the well tubing and when above the collar 48 as illustrated in Fig. 2 it is impossible to lower the tube guide into the sand to effect engagement of the recesses 4E and lugs 45. Also the sand may be packed around the tube II and tend to resist turning of same. In such instances the working barrel is lifted to engage the recesses 49 with the lugs 50 inthe lower end of the plunger body. Then by clockwise rotation of the working barrel, the left hand thread I4 in the plunger body I5 is unscrewed from the tube II to disconnect the plunger from said tube whereby the plunger, working barrel. tube guide and rod string may all be lifted from the well tubing. It is preferable to lift the rod string approximately 10 feet and hold same until the iuid in the well tubing has backwashed to clean the sand from around the lower end of the plunger tube. After the sand has been washed away, the working barrel is lowered and the plunger body threaded onto the plunger or pull tube II. 'Then by lowering the working barrel to effect engagement of the recesses in the tube guide with the lugs on the collar 43 and clock-- wise rotation of the working barrel positive turning force is applied to the tube II to unscrew same from the connector 8 and the entire pump then may be removed from the well tubing,

It is believed obvious that I have provided `un improved sub-surface pump with an arrangement of valves which substantially eliminate gas locking and have provided a structure which permits complete removal of the pump from the well tubing under all conditions even when the `sand is around thelower 'end of the plunger tube.

What I yclaim and `desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A sub-surface V.pump 'including in :combination with 'a well tubing and a string of :pump rods, means sealingly `engaging the well tubing to form a fluid receiving chamber thereabove in said well tubing and having a bore communicating with 'the fluid supply therebelow, .fatube longer th'anthe normal pumping stroke of the `pump rods threadedly `engaged fin the bore and 'emending upwardly in the Well tubing, a hollow plunger threaded on the upper end of said tube for passage of fluid through the tube and plunger, a working barrel suspended and reciprocable by the pump rods and sleeved over the plunger and said tube, valve means on the working barrel, valve means on the plunger cooperating with the valve means on the working barrel in effecting elevation of iuid into the well tubing in response to reciprocaticn of the working barrel, a collar xed on the tube adjacent the lower end thereof, a guide member of less length than said normal stroke of the pump rods xed to the lower end of the working barrel and slidable on the tube, said guide member being spaced below the plunger at its uppermost position and above the collar in its lowermost position in a normal pump stroke of the pump rods, nter-engageable means on the collar and guide member spaced from the axis thereof and selectively engageable by movement of the working barrel beyond the lower limit of the normal pumping stroke for rotation of the pump rods and working barrel for disconnecting the tube from the bore of the sealing means for removal of the plunger and working barrel from the well tubing, and interengageable means on the plunger and guide member spaced from the axis thereof and selectively engageable by movement of the Working barrel beyond the upper limit of the normal pumping stroke for rotation of the pump rods and working barrel for disconnecting the plunger from the tube.

2. A sub-surface pump including in combination with a well tubing and a string of pump rods, means sealingly engaging the well tubing to form a fluid receiving chamber thereabove in said well tubing and having a bore communicating with the fluid supply therebelow, a tube longer than the normal pumping stroke of the pump rods threadedly engaged in the bore and extend- 6 ing upwardly in the well tubing, a hollow plunger threaded on the upper end of said tube for passage of uuid through the tube and plunger, a working barrel suspended and reciprocable by '1e pump rods and sleeved over the plunger and said tube, valves on the upper ends of both the working barrel and plunger to effect elevation of fluid into the barrel on the upstroke thereof and elevation of fluid into the well tubing on the down stroke of the working barrel, a collar fixed on the tube adjacent the lower end thereof, upstanding lugs on said collar and spaced from the axis thereof, depending lugs on the plunger spaced from the axis thereof, and a guide inember of less length than said normal stroke of the pump rods fixed to the lower end of the working barrel and slidable on the tube, said guide member being spaced below the plunger at its uppermost position and above the collar at its lowermost position in the normal pump stroke of the pump rods, said guide member having recesses in its ends spaced from the axis thereof and selectively engageable with the lugs on the collar and plunger by movement of the working barrel beyond the limits of the normal pumping stroke for selectively disconnecting the plunger from the tube and the tube from the bore of the sealing means in response to rotation of the pump rods and working barrel for removal of the plunger and working barrel from the well tubing.

SCELMER L. STONE.

References Cited in the file Of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,476,444 Ellis Dec. 4, 1923 1,625,230 Thurston Apr. 19, 1927 1,755,990 Hawley Apr. 22, 1930 1,877,112 Yerkes et al Sept. 13, 1932 2,414,254 Busby Jan. 14, 1947 

